149 - PEP FAJARDO (Barcelona, 1961).

PEP FAJARDO (Barcelona, 1961). “Mask,” 2002. Iron, wood, and lead. Signed and dated. Includes the book “Devocionario” from the Maeght Gallery. Measurements: 177 x 17 x 50 cm. The sculptor Pep Fajardo began as a ceramist, studying at the Massana School in Barcelona, and started his career with work closely tied to found objects; his artistic language would undergo a gradual refinement—both formal and conceptual—moving away from grandiloquence and toward the everyday. Fajardo made his solo debut in 1988, the year in which he held two solo exhibitions (at the Vicent Bernat Gallery in Barcelona and the Academy of Fine Arts in Sabadell) and participated in two group exhibitions (“Jugend Gestaltet’88” in Munich and “Daltabaix,” at the Alla Prima Gallery in Barcelona). This marked the beginning of a fruitful exhibition career, which would lead him to present his work in solo exhibitions at prominent venues in Spain, the Netherlands, and Andorra, including the Vincent Bernat and Maeght galleries in Barcelona, the Casa de España and the Huis Voor Beeldende Kunst Gallery in Utrecht, the Raquel Ponce Gallery in Madrid, and the Museu Arxiu Tomàs Balvey in Cardedeu. He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions in Spain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Andorra, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. He has also participated in the ARCO art fair since 1996, among other major contemporary art events. Pep Fajardo’s sculpture represents the poet’s struggle against the decay of matter, through a poignant effort at rescue and transformation. The artist goes beyond the simple use of recycled materials, ensuring that their reuse does not lend itself to any purpose other than an invitation to contemplation and interpretation. He currently has public monuments in Spain, South Korea, and Italy, and his work is represented in the Vila Casas, Jorge Castillo, and Niebla Foundations, various Spanish city councils, and the DKV, Norte, Arte-Lisboa Contemporary Art Fair, Maeght, Jaume Roser, BBVA, José de Guimarães, and E. Roura collections, as well as the Fons d’Art Lina Font and the Museu Arxiu Tomàs Balbey.